]]>https://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/cherry-juice-is-as-good-as-23-portions-of-fruit-and-veg/
Sun, 29 Mar 2015 22:58:57 +0000CherryActive-Asiahttps://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/cherry-juice-is-as-good-as-23-portions-of-fruit-and-veg/Drinking a glass of cherry juice a day offer the same health benefits as eating 23 portions of fruit and vegetables, research reveals.

It found 250ml of the juice contained more antioxidants that five portions of peas, tomatoes, water melon, carrots and banana.

Previous research has shown that antioxidants – which target harmful molecules in the body called free radicles – can help prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke and aging.

The research, led by Doctor Robert Verkerk and published in Nutritional Practitioner, compared the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) – the level of antioxidants in food – of 20ml diluted cherry juice concentrate with various food and vegetables.

It found the ORAC level of cherry juice was 8260 compared with 1790 for fruit and vegetables.

Patrick Holford, a leading nutritionist, said “A recent BBC2 Horizon documentary showed the longest living people in the World all achieve a very high intake of antioxidants, measured as over 6000 ORAC units a day”.

However, the study also revealed that eating cherries may not offer the same protection.

The scientist tested juice from the Montmorency tart cherry which is grown in the US.

The type typically eaten in the UK has only a fifth of the antioxidant level of the Montmorency. The juice is available in health food shops and is called CherryActive.

Health professionals recommend taking 30ml of CherryActive Concentrate or two CherryActive Capsules each day for antioxidant health.

What the pro’s say

“The longest living people in the world have a very high intake of antioxidants, measured as over 6000 ORAC units a day. CherryActive Concentrate is extraordinarily high at 8260 ORAC units per 30ml serving. It’s so high I had to check the independent analysis. I’m making a serving a day part of my anti-ageing strategy.“

– Patrick Holford, Founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition

“A single 30ml serving gives you about the same free radical quenching ability as the equivalent of over 20 typical portions of fruit and vegetables.“

Participants were asked to drink tart cherry juice twice a day for three weeks.

Analysis revealed that women who consumed the juice benefited from significant reductions in levels of inflammatory markers.

The improvements were particularly noticeable in those women whose levels of inflammation were highest at the start of the three-week period.

It is thought that tart cherries’ effects on inflammation may be due to their antioxidant compounds, called anthocyanins.

Presenting their findings at a conference of the American College of Sports Medicine in California, the study authors claimed that the fruits may have the highest anti-inflammatory content of any food, and that they may therefore help to reduce chronic inflammation in people with arthritis and other forms of joint pain.

Cherryactive is made of 100% Montmorency cherries known to be high in naturally – occuring melatonin.

MELATONIN supplementation is a controversial issue and I hope to help readers understand the facts so that they are not misled by wild claims.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, which is situated at the base of the brain. Although this hormone is best known for regulating the sleep and wake cycles, it also plays many other important roles in the body, including maintaining a healthy immune system, serving as an antioxidant, and regulating the menstrual cycle.

FUNCTION OF MELATONIN

Let’s look at the functions of melatonin in greater detail. Like all hormones, melatonin sends chemical messages to various parts of the body and tells the different organs or tissues to produce more hormones or carry out certain tasks. Without melatonin, other hormonal activity in the body would be interrupted.

Production of melatonin is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light. This is what makes the pineal gland our “internal clock”, as it controls our body’s circadian rhythm – our body’s own 24-hour time-keeping system that plays an important role in when we fall asleep and when we wake up.

It may sound like a simple function, but if this internal clock is disrupted, many other neuroendocrine functions go haywire. The body’s internal functions, as well as mental well-being, can be adversely affected. For example, you may find yourself unable to think clearly, and forget key facts if your melatonin production is upset.

Children and healthy young adults have higher levels of melatonin. As they advance beyond middle-age, the amount of melatonin produced by the body decreases. This may explain why elderly adults tend to have difficulty sleeping at night.

The level of melatonin in the blood appears to trigger the adrenal glands to increase or suppress the secretion of male and female sex hormones. In this respect, it controls the timing and release of reproductive hormones in a woman’s body. It is instrumental in determining when menstruation begins, how long the cycle lasts, and when menopause occurs.

Melatonin also affects the production of pituitary gland hormones, including human growth hormone. This hormone plays a role in muscle and bone growth, as well as energy metabolism, among other essential functions.

Finally, it is believed that the immune system can be strengthened by melatonin. This is because melatonin is recognised as a strong antioxidant, which is a substance that protects your cells from the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or are generated through environmental exposure to tobacco smoke and radiation.

Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.

There is a theory that melatonin levels in the population are decreasing because of light “pollution”. This phenomenon, also called urban sky glow, is where the sky is unnaturally bright at night due to artificial lighting from highways, streets, malls, stadiums and homes.

A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Pineal Research stated that exposure to low-level incandescent lightning for only 39 minutes can suppress melatonin levels by up to 50%.

BENEFITS OF MELATONIN

Sleep is as important as food and air, and the quantity and quality an individual gets is also extremely important. According to data from the Cancer Prevention Study II, individuals who average seven hours of sleep each night have a lower mortality rate than do those who sleep eight hours or more.

Interestingly, research shows that sleeping more than eight hours may have deleterious effects, although the reasons for this are less clear.

A paper recently published in Neuroendocrinology Letters says that disruption of the circadian rhythms caused by over-exposure to light at night – because of both night work and as a personal choice and lifestyle – has been associated with cancer in humans. And there’s evidence of increased breast and colon cancer risk in shift workers.

Melatonin is most popularly known in its supplement form, which is touted for all sorts of conditions, ranging from sleep disturbance to anti-cancer and anti-ageing effects.

There is still a lot of debate within medical and health circles about the safety and efficacy of melatonin supplements. As melatonin is a hormone, you should be very cautious about taking such supplements.

Below, I will describe some of the common claims made by proponents of melatonin supplements. Many are still not validated by indisputable scientific evidence, so be sure to always ask your doctor’s advice first.

Sleep disturbance is the most common reason why people seek out melatonin supplements. In many cases, it is due to external factors, such as jet lag or shift work. Jet lag occurs when you cross time zones during long-distance travel, so night becomes day and day becomes night for you.

Shift workers also have trouble regulating their circadian rhythms because they go to sleep in the daytime, but the bright daylight disrupts their melatonin production.

Some people suffer from insomnia, which is the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for a reasonable period during the night. Melatonin supplements are believed to be able to induce sleep in these people who either have low melatonin levels or have had their internal clocks disrupted.

Melatonin supplements are also claimed to be powerful antioxidants that help protect us from infection, inflammation, and act as immune enhancers because the immune system works less efficiently as we age.

Melatonin has also been shown to be beneficial for Alzheimer’s disease, especially for coping with the period called “sundowning”, when patients become agitated during late afternoon and early evening; gastric ulcers; hot flashes in menopausal women because melatonin suppresses luteinizing hormone (LH) in postmenopausal women; cardiovascular disease, since melatonin helps regulate nitric oxide production, which plays a vital role in ensuring proper cardiovascular function; and also for attention deficit disorder and insomnia in children.

Some small studies have looked at the use of melatonin to reduce high blood pressure, enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment, and reduce radiation-induced side effects in cancer treatment.

And in studies done on animals, it has been shown to improve immunity and extend lifespan by 20%.

PRACTISE CAUTION

Melatonin supplementation is not to be taken without care. Aside from the fact that there is no conclusive scientific evidence to support its long-term use, it can also have unpleasant side effects for some people.

Some people have reported vivid dreams or nightmares when they take melatonin. Its sleep-inducing effects may also extend into the daytime and cause drowsiness during the day. It is best to avoid driving or operating machinery if you are taking melatonin.

You should also be aware of other side effects, such as stomach cramps, dizziness, headache, irritability, decreased libido, as well as breast enlargement and decreased sperm count in men.

A word of caution for women: melatonin could interfere with fertility. It also should not be taken by pregnant or breastfeeding women, who are already producing abundant melatonin in their bodies.

Children and teenagers also have ample melatonin in their bodies, so supplementation could lead to overdose.

If you take certain antidepressants, such as Prozac or Nardil, do not take melatonin supplements, as both medications could interact to cause a stroke or heart attack.

GOING NATURAL

Before deciding to take melatonin supplements, you can try to look for natural sources of melatonin to increase the level of the hormone in your body.

Melatonin is found in some foods, although in small amounts. Oats, sweet corn and rice are rich in melatonin, as are ginger, tomatoes, bananas and barley.

If, like many other people, you resort to melatonin supplementation for sleep problems, then you could try the following methods first to regulate your sleep cycle:

● Get eight to nine hours sleep per night.

● Get to bed by 10:30pm each night.

● Sleep in a comfortable bed – make sure the mattress is not too saggy, too hard, or creaky.

● Make your sleep and wake times the same each day, even on weekends.

● Avoid exposure to bright lights, directly before and during sleep.

● Avoid TV and reading before bed, as both stimulate the brain.

● Make your room completely dark, especially if you are a shift worker who sleeps in the daytime. Use dark curtains to block out sunlight.

● Keep the bedroom at a comfortable temperature, not too warm or too cold.

● Avoid electromagnetic fields in the bedroom, such as TVs, clocks, radios and lights. If you must have them in the room, move them far away from the bed.

● Avoid eating before sleep.

● Move the clock out of sight and avoid loud alarm clocks.

● Try keeping a journal – write down your thoughts before sleeping, so that they are not racing through your mind.

● Limit drug use – some prescription and over-the-counter medications can inhibit sleep.

● Exercising can release stress and help you sleep better at night – but don’t exercise too close to bedtime as the body needs time to relax.

● Take a hot bath or shower before bed.

● Keep your work out of the bedroom, so that your body doesn’t recognise it as a stressful environment.

Many people will claim that melatonin supplements are safe because they are “natural”. However, everything carries potential risks and side effects, especially if you do not know whether the manufacturers are to be trusted.

Whether you need help sleeping through the night, feeling good while traveling across time zones, or just want to boost your immunity, and possibly add some years to your life, always check with your doctor before taking melatonin supplements. Tell her about your other health conditions and medications, so that you can avoid any adverse complications.

■ Source: An article by Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar, a consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist (FRCOG, UK) as published in http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Viewpoints/Womens-World/Profile/Articles/2011/05/29/Melatonin-for-women/Datuk Dr. Nor Ashikin Mokhtar, a prominent female gynaecologist in Kuala Lumpur. Datuk Dr. Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists of United Kingdom and a Senior Consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist at Pantai Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is also a Fellow of ECARE (European Council of Aging Research and Education) and Board Certified Practitioner by International Hormone Society for Advance Hormone Therapy.

]]>https://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/cherryactive-sport-ambassador-meet-the-cycling-pros/
Sun, 26 May 2013 14:03:12 +0000CherryActive-Asiahttps://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/cherryactive-sport-ambassador-meet-the-cycling-pros/Taken by the elite of GB Sport, including football, rugby, tennis and athletics professionals and thousands of keen amateurs. Meet some of them and what they say about CherryActive;

Wendy Houvenaghel
World Track Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist – “Since using CherryActive products I have noticed an improvement in my overall recovery which is beneficial to my training and competition requirements. CherryActive forms a significant part of my nutritional strategy especially when preparing for major competitions like World Championships and Olympic Games.”

Ollie Beckingsale
British Mountain Bike Champion, GB Olympian – “Since using CherryActive after workouts and competition I have noticed my recovery is quicker than ever. I can train harder and longer, which is essential to my competitive performance. It is now a key part of my recovery strategy.”

Nigel Mitchell
British Cycling Nutrition Adviser – “The British Cycling Endurance Squad riders take antioxidant-rich CherryActive Concentrate as part of their preparations for the Olympic Games. We believe that antioxidants play an important role in the performance and recovery of athletes and CherryActive is a valuable inclusion in our team’s nutritional strategy.”

Rob Lee
Champion British Extreme Endurance Mountain Biker – “I started using CherryActive early last year and since then I’ve seen an increase in my capacity for training and improvements in fitness due an increased ability to recover. Some of the endurance challenges I set myself really do push the limit when it comes to my body being able to recover and maintain a healthy immune system. CherryActive has already helped me push myself to a new level of endurance and the improvements just keep coming”.

Steve Cummings
Commonwealth Champion
“CherryActive is a vital part of maintaining my health during a three-week stage race!! I wouldn’t roll without it”

UK experts said the research offered “good evidence” of the benefits of eating cherries for people with gout.

Gout is a common type of arthritis that can cause sudden and very severe attacks of pain and swelling in the joints, particularly in the feet.

It is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream, which causes urate crystals to start to form in and around the joints and under the skin.

CHERRY INTAKE

Gout affects about one in 100 people, with men two to three times more likely to be affected than women.

In this study, researchers from Boston University recruited 633 gout patients with an average age of 54, who were followed online for one year. Most were male.

People were asked to record gout attacks including symptoms, the drugs they used and their diet and drinking patterns in the two days prior to the attack, including whether or not they had eaten cherries or cherry extract intake.

Ten to 12 cherries was counted as one serving.

“Eating cherries, in fact, is not dissimilar to taking ibuprofen on a daily basis”

– Prof Alan Silman, Arthritis Research UK

During the period the patients were studied, they had a total of 1,247 gout attacks. Some 42% of those studied ate cherries or cherry extract. These patients had a 37% lower risk of gout attacks than those who did not eat the fruit – in any form.

However, the benefit was only seen when eating up to three servings over the two days prior to an attack. Further cherry consumption provided no extra benefit.

But when patients ate cherries or cherry extract and took the common anti-gout drug allopurinol, the risk of attacks was 75% less than if they were doing neither.

Writing in the journal, the team led by Dr Yuqing Zhang, said: “Our findings indicate that consuming cherries or cherry extract lowers the risk of gout attack.”

Prof Alan Silman, medical director of Arthritis Research UK welcomed the research: “It has been thought for some time that some fruits, in particular cherries, may have benefits for diseases such as gout and rheumatoid arthritis which are characterised by chronic inflammation.

“It has been suggested that antioxidant compounds found in cherries may be natural inhibitors of enzymes which are targeted by common anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen.”

“Eating cherries, in fact, is not dissimilar to taking ibuprofen on a daily basis.

“However, we’d like to see additional clinical trials are necessary to further investigate and provide confirmation of this effect.”

The article as published in BBC News – Health on 28 September 2012

]]>https://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/cherryactive-sport-ambassador/
Mon, 13 May 2013 07:37:58 +0000CherryActive-Asiahttps://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/cherryactive-sport-ambassador/Taken by the elite of GB Sport, including football, rugby, tennis and athletics professionals and thousands of keen amateurs. Meet some of them and what they say about CherryActive;

“Ross Pearson – The Ultimate Fighter (TUF9) Champion and UFC Fighter “Without CherryActive I would not be able to train for as long and as hard as I do! The juice is great to prevent muscle soreness after hard sessions and it is a natural, great tasting drink! I also find taking the capsules before I go to bed helps me get a fantastic nights sleep and I wake up feeling great and ready to train. I will not train for a fight again without using CherryActive!”

“Dan Hardy – UFC Fighter “I’ve been incorporating CherryActive into my diet for some time now, especially when training intensifies for a fight. It’s great for recovery.”

“Faith Pitman – Great British Judo Squad “Competitive Judo at international level requires a gruelling training regime that often leaves me exhausted. CherryActive Concentrate helps me recover quickly, which means I can train harder and more often.”

“Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley – MMA Fighter “CherryActive’s role for me as a fighter has been awesome. It aids my muscular recovery and I always wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go at it again.””

“Tony Grisman, Team GB Taekwondo 2012 “It’s important for me to get the best out of my training every day. CherryActive has given me the opportunity to optimise my training for London 2012. I wouldn’t dream of training without it.!”

“Andre Winner UFC Fighter “As a professional fighter, muscle recovery is very important to me. CherryActive enables me to speed this process up!”

]]>https://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/golf/
Mon, 06 May 2013 11:41:06 +0000CherryActive-Asiahttps://cherryactiveinasia.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/golf/Gout is a condition that causes pain, inflammation and swelling in one or more of the joints. It usually affects the big toe, but can develop in any joint in the body.

Gout often occurs in attacks that usually last for three to 10 days, after which the joint should feel normal and pain-free again. The attacks are almost impossible to predict and future attacks can be more frequent and last for longer.

Gout is caused by the build-up of uric acid (urate) in the bloodstream. Urate is a normally harmless waste product, produced by the body when it breaks down substances known as purines. Purines are found naturally in the body, in some foods and in certain alcohols, including beer, stout and port.

Gout affects around one in 200 adults, most commonly men between 30 and 60 years of age. Gout rarely affects women because they have a lower level of urate in their bloodstream. When women do develop it, it’s usually after the start of the menopause.

A high level of uric acid may lead to it precipitating as microscopic, needle-like crystals in joint areas. These crystals may incite a significant inflammatory reaction called acute gouty arthritis. Acute attacks may last a few days to a few weeks and usually there are long periods between attacks.

Mostly, one joint becomes painful, red, hot, and swollen (inflamed) over a very short time. Very often the first joint to be affected is the big toe, just like the popular image of the person with gout, but in up to a third of people the attack starts elsewhere.

Sometimes more than one joint or soft tissues (muscles, tendons, tissues below the skin) may be affected by inflammation and sometimes hard, yellowish lumps are visible close beneath the skin (tophi).

Crystals may cause troubles elsewhere, sometimes leading to stones in the kidneys. Your doctor will be able to tell a lot from the speaking to and examining you. You may well also have a blood or joint fluid sample taken to test the uric acid level or to inspect the crystals under a microscope.

Joint Care and Uric acid maintenance with Cherryactive

Do you suffer from joint pain caused by gout or arthritis?

Montmorency cherries are a rich source of anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins possess natural, anti-inflammatory properties.

Anthocyanins in cherries also help to maintain healthy levels of uric acid.